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The next Silent Hill game, reportedly a PS5 exclusive, is said to be about to be revealed, per insider AestheticGamer/Dusk Golem. The insider has shared multiple pieces of information about the title over the last few weeks and now seems pretty sure the game has two possible reveal windows.
According to AestheticGamer, the new Silent Hill is to be “revealed on the 4th” of June, when the PS5 is getting its first next-gen games showcase “or in August,” when Sony has reportedly planned a second State of Play to show even more titles for the incoming PlayStation system.
Between the two windows, the insider believes “it should be the 4th as the team is excited to reveal it, the game is PS5 exclusive, and it’s in a playable state.”
The fact it is said to be playable is in line with rumors that Sony would have required developers to show their games running on the real hardware for the event.
The only reason it might skip the June event and go for the August State of Play is that it might not be a launch title, claims Aesthetic Gamer.
At the time being, though, Sony has not made it clear whether it’ll showcase only launch/launch window titles in the first next-gen showcase, or it’ll span across multiple years in the console’s life cycle.
The incoming Silent Hill title is said to be a soft reboot from the original senior members of the Team Silent, which worked on the first four games in the franchise.
Keichiro Toyama would be directing the game, Akira Yamaoka is reportedly making music for it, and Masahiro Ito would be the art director.


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Inside AT&T's Network Operations Center
May 22, 2013 6:51 PM -
Lex Friedman goes inside the heart of the cellphone network -- AT&T's Global Network Operations Center in new Jersey.
Read the related article:
AT&T clocks best overall speeds with 3G/4G combo
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Dropping Gas Prices = Trouble for Hybrids?
If you’ve heard recently, there was a drop in oil prices around the world, although this may seem good news, it sure isn’t looking as good for fuel-efficient vehicles such as hybrids. The recent oil drop have left American motorists be less concerned about saving the world and buying more fuel-efficient vehicles. Toyota even started to offer incentives and discounts on some electric-hybrid models including the Prius for the first time. Starting this month, Prius buyers in the United States can get 0% financing for two years or lease payments from $219 a month. Other manufacturers have also started to give discounts on its hybrid vehicles including the Honda Accord, the Ford Escape, and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid.


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In the spring of 2017, an Iranian materials scientist named Sirous Asgari received a call from the United States consulate in Dubai. Two years earlier, he and his wife, Fatemeh, had applied for visas to visit America, where their children lived.
During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate the countless contributions of more than 60 million Hispanic Americans to our culture and society. Hispanic Americans are the largest minority group in the United States today, and generations…
The Wall Street Journal
– Sep 15, 1:12 AM
BEIJING—China's economic recovery accelerated in August, with retail sales, the last holdout among the economy's major components, returning to pre-coronavirus levels by showing their first month of growth this year. Other major indicators…


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Reserve bank of India has not yet approved the proposal of limiting the ATM transactions. It has been reported that the apex bank is still examining the proposal offered by IBA. RBI Deputy Governor H R Khan reported that many more suggestions have come up, RBI needs to think over how to resolve the issue. The basic idea is that public is using excess of cash that is adding up to the cost. RBI is trying to come up with steps that will help to minimize the cash transaction in the economy so as to reduce the money scams in the country.
IBA has proposed the idea to limit the free transactions up to 5 and hike the price from 15 to 18 that will provide funds to banks in order to enhance ATM security. RBI has not yet finalized the decision. The apex will declare the guidelines regarding this soon.


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Horsemeat found in lasagna from Swiss supermarket chain
Swiss supermarket chain Coop has found horsemeat in its own-brand lasagna, which has the same French supplier, Comigel, at the heart of a scandal in Britain.
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ZURICH—Swiss supermarket chain Coop has found horsemeat in its own-brand lasagna, which has the same French supplier, Comigel, at the heart of a scandal in Britain.
Growing revelations about the use of horsemeat in products labelled beef have raised questions about the safety of the European food supply chain and prompted governments to send out a European Union-wide alert.
Switzerland’s Coop had already withdrawn the suspect lasagna from its freezers earlier in the week for tests, which confirmed on Wednesday the products contained horsemeat. A Coop spokesman said customers could get their money back.
While Swiss consumers do eat horsemeat on occasion, they are extremely sensitive about the origin of their meat products with strict labelling requirements in force.
The British unit of frozen foods group Findus began recalling its beef lasagna last week on advice from Comigel, after tests showed concentrations of horsemeat ranging from 60 to 100 per cent.
Swiss food group Nestle, which sold the rights to the Findus brand in most of Europe in 2000 but retained them in Switzerland, launched a campaign this week to reassure consumers that Swiss Findus products were only made from Swiss beef.
The scandal first broke on Jan. 15 when routine tests by Irish authorities discovered horsemeat in beef burgers made by firms in Ireland and Britain and sold in supermarket chains including Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer.
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Swiss WorldCargo has appointed Alexandra Dahl-Augustin as its new head of marketing and communications.
She joined the company is December 2014 and has been responsible for key account management and developing customer relationships with strategic partners.
“With her experience and educational background, we look forward to Alexandra leading our efforts to meet our key strategic success factors of positioning and enhancing our brand promise and values,” said Ashwin Bhat, head of cargo at Swiss International Air Lines. “In her new role, Alexandra is responsible for both communication disciplines: marketing, public relation and internal communication.”
Dahl-Augustin previously held various positions in passenger sales at American Airlines, Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines, according to Swiss WorldCargo.


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A look at China’s Singles Day
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba kicked off its annual Singles’ Day mega-shopping event looking to cash in on consumers itching for discounts as the economy rebounds from the global health crisis
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Social commerce startup Meesho has raised $570 million led by Fidelity Management and Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group. The company has also added new investors to its cap table including Footpath Ventures, Trifecta Capital and Good Capital. In addition, existing investors Prosus Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Facebook also participated in the round.
The valuation of the company after this financing round is estimated at $4.9 billion, which is more than double what it was six months ago. According to the report of a web portal, Meesho is planning to reach 100 million monthly transaction users by December 2022. The company plans to use the new funds to grow its technology and product talent by 2.5X and grow its roster to over 50 million products.
Meesho has said that it is looking to expand its groceries and FMCG offerings with Farmiso, its community group buying the business, to over 200 cities. “By making online grocery shopping affordable for first time users in India’s Tier 2+ markets, the company allows them to shop from a wide selection of grocery items in ticket sizes up to $1-2,” Meesho said in a statement.”
The company has claimed that it has registered a 2.5X increase in order volume and has added a range of new product categories such as Sports & Fitness, Pet Supplies and Automotive Accessories. Meesho is a leader in the social commerce marketplace for unbranded products. The company claims to have enabled over 13 million individual entrepreneurs and over 45 million customers in the country as of April.


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City Car Club is set to start work with Birmingham City Council to provide an enhanced service that will help reduce the city’s carbon emissions, congestion and parking pressure.
City Car Club has been operating a successful car club in Birmingham since 2008, with many residents and businesses already signed up to use the service. The operator has now been named as the cities official car club partner for the use of designated on-street parking bays after successfully completing a competitive process.
Until now, Birmingham City Car Club has been a relatively small scale operation, but thanks to this new partnership with the city council, who have agreed to provide an initial supply of on-street parking bays, the club is hoping to grow significantly over the coming months and years.
City Car Club has more than 500 self-service cars and in some locations vans, located across 14 cities nationwide. The cars and vans can be booked by the hour, day or as long as needed in advance, or at the last minute. Insurance, road tax, repairs, cleaning and fuel are all included.
Independent research by Carplus, the national charity promoting responsible car use, shows that on average, each City Car replaces 25 privately owned cars and that members generally cut down on unnecessary car journeys by 35% after they join.
The new bays, the first of which is due to launch shortly at Warstone Lane in the Jewellery Quarter, mean that more and more people will be able to benefit from the convenience of having a self-service, pay-as-you-go vehicle located just around the corner from where they live and work.
City Car Club managing director James Finlayson said: “We’re delighted to be expanding the Birmingham City Car Club and have plans to introduce new City Cars and possibly even vans at various locations over the next few years. We’re confident that we can help improve congestion and reduce CO2 emissions in the city, at the same time as offering residents a convenient and cost effective alternative to car ownership.”


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Departure cards for international travellers are being scrapped:
Travellers currently fill out a total of 6.5 million departure cards each year.
But Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri said the cards are no longer needed to account for all people crossing the New Zealand border.
She said they now have smarter systems which can identify information and travel movements electronically.
“Information captured by the departure cards is now mainly used for statistical purposes,” Ms Whaitiri said.
“Stats NZ has developed an alternative way to produce migration and tourism statistics, based on actual movements rather than passengers’ stated intentions on the departure cards.” . .
The requirement to fill out cards will be end in November.
The Government says it will save more than 100,000 hours of time and allow a faster and smoother process.
Each time I’ve passed through the electronic passport control I’ve wondered why there is still a requirement to fill in a departure card.
There isn’t any longer which will save travellers’ time and ought to also save the time and money that has been spent on processing them.


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The end could be in sight for a much maligned but nonetheless iconic job role, the McDonald’s sales assistant, with the news that Ronald and Co will be fitting out 7,000 European outlets with touchscreens and swipe cards.
The news was broken by the Financial Times in an interview with the president of Maccy D’s European operations, Steve Easterbrook. Easterbrook said that ordering food had “not changed for 30 or 40 years” so its restaurants would be looking to modern technology.
The move aims to make the McDonald’s experience more convenient, though we must say the original ‘give money, get burger’ was never really too taxing on the customer in the first place.
According to Easterbrook, bringing in touchscreens will mean that efficiency is increased. Swiping of Visa cards could also make life more simple for us increasingly catatonic fast food devourers, with the average transaction three to four seconds shorter for each customer. It makes instant gratification that little bit more instant.
For a company that flips burgers for around two million customers daily in Europe, this means even more money passing through its soon-to-be-automated tills.
It also means that, like the similar technology at supermarkets, the firm will be able to gather huge databases on customer ordering habits.
And it appears that other leading fast food chains are about to follow suit, with KFC informing us that it is currently trialling touchscreens in some UK stores. Though there are no Europe-wide plans just yet, they are “definitely looking at the technology”.
Burger King did not comment at time of publication.
Of course, while McDonald’s customers will have whole seconds shaved off the time between entering the shop and receiving their Happy Meal, it could mean jobs could be chopped.
Thankfully there are reports that the firm could be employing waiters at branches, which we presume is to provide Michelin level table service as well as to wipe down the greasy paw prints of those returning to touchscreens, to replenish their meagre ketchup supplies.
Burger King also told us it’s committed to creating the “best possible customer experience”. It’s currently trialling the visaPaywave system in a number of restaurants with a view to rolling out to more in the future. Burger King also told us it’s trialling the MP3-playing SoundTube pods in one branch, which we guess are speakers.


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At NYSEG, one Altec bucket truck with an electric hybrid lift is on the job in Mechanicville and an identical unit will be on the road in Binghamton later this month. Once this new-generation bucket truck arrives at a job site, the diesel engine can be shut off and the bucket can be operated on battery power, cutting emissions and reducing noise. The quiet lift operation also makes communication between personnel in the bucket and on the ground easier and safer.
"Adding these vehicles to our fleet is further evidence of our commitment to the environment and our desire to gather first-hand information on how they perform," said Mark S. Lynch, president of NYSEG and RG&E.
PLATTSBURGH — Price Chopper has been recognized by GXT Green for its siginificant contributions to sustainability efforts and was named to the 2012 GXT Earth Day Honor Roll.
GXT cited Price Chopper's commitment to green building and environmental initiatives.
"Price Chopper has shown tremendous leadership in sustainability including LEED Certifications and an innovative natural-gas fuel cell that provides 60 percent of the electric energy for its newest Colonie store," it stated. "They have made a public commitment to a sustainable seafood supply in their chain. They continue to commit to more sustainable stores, products and packaging for their products, which ensures that they minimize their impact on our environment."
Bill Sweet, Price Chopper's vice president of engineering and construction, said Price Chopper is committed to reducing energy usage and carbon impacts and investing in sustainable and renewable technologies.
"Our shoppers will see displays and kiosks throughout the stores that explain what they are looking at and what we have done to conserve utilities and save energy, he said. "We hope that some of these green initiatives and the demonstrated results will inspire individuals to change their own behaviors."


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LLamasoft strengthens its commitment to Network Design Solutions for Retail
February 17th, 2011
Ann Arbor, MI – LLamasoft Inc. is announcing its presence at this year’s Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Logistics Conference February 20th-23rd in Orlando, FL. This is the first time LLamasoft will be exhibiting at the conference and further strengthens the company’s commitment to the retail-based solutions for designing and improving supply chain network operations.
LLamasoft and its award winning software, Supply Chain Guru®, has been the leading choice for many national and global retailers alike – working on a variety of Supply Chain Design and Predictive Analysis initiatives. Aside participating in RILA, LLamasoft recently added a seasoned account director dedicated to connecting with supply chain leaders in the retail segment and working with them to serve their supply chain design needs.
“RILA is a great opportunity for us to connect with current clients and be on hand to meet retail leaders at all levels who are looking to optimize their supply chain, lower costs, and improve customer service,” commented LLamasoft Executive Vice President, Toby Brzoznowski. He added, “With the economic challenges experienced in the retail industry during the past few years, LLamasoft has stepped up its commitment to providing solutions for retailers of all sizes to help them respond to supply chain challenges and emerge much stronger with a better end-to-end network design.”
RILA is a great place for LLamasoft to exhibit as it is an alliance of the world’s most successful and innovative retailer and supplier companies – the leaders of the retail industry. RILA members represent almost $1.4 trillion in sales annually and operate more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers nationwide. RILA member retailers and suppliers have facilities in all 50 states, as well as internationally, and employ millions of workers domestically and worldwide. Through RILA, leaders in the critical disciplines of the retail industry work together to improve their businesses and the industry as a whole.


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After a formidable rise of about 73% since the March 23 lows of this year, at the current price of $64 per share, we believe National Beverage Corp stock (NASDAQ: FIZZ) has surpassed its near-term potential. FIZZ’s stock has increased from $37 to $64 off the recent bottom, much more than the S&P 500 which increased 46% from its recent bottom. Despite such a sharp recovery, the stock is about 32% below the levels seen at the end of 2017, and we expect it to decline from its current level. Though revenue is likely to see a marginal increase of 2% in FY 2021 (ending May 2021), the net income margin is likely to drop 20% (margins are declining over the last 2 years) leading to an earnings drop of a little less than 20%. A marginal reduction in P/E multiple due to a deteriorating bottom line is likely to lead to more than a 20% drop in FIZZ stock from its current level. Our dashboard What Factors Drove 32% Change In National Beverage Stock Between 2017 And Now? has the underlying numbers.
Some of the sharp decline in stock price over the last two and a half years is justified by the 15.4% decline in net income margins. Despite revenue increasing slightly by 2.5% from $976 million in FY 2018 to $1 billion in FY 2020, profitability has steadily deteriorated with net income margins dropping from 15.3% to 13% during the same period. Profits have declined mainly due to lower gross margins, on the back of an increase in cost per case primarily from changes in product mix and increased manufacturing cost.
FIZZ’s P/E multiple dropped from 29x at the end of 2017 to 18x by the end of 2019 with the slide in EPS. As earnings declined, the stock price dropped much more than the EPS, with the markets predicting further deterioration in numbers. The P/E multiple dropped further in the initial few months of 2020 only to recover over the recent weeks, and now stands at 23x. We believe that the company’s P/E ratio has the potential to see a slight decrease in the near term on expectations of decline in margins in FY2021 and very subdued revenue growth, thus driving the stock price lower.
What’s the trigger for a downside?
The global spread of coronavirus in early 2020 affected industrial and economic activity, which affected consumption and consumer spending. Additionally, the lockdowns in major global cities over recent months also had an adverse effect on consumer-centric businesses. National Beverage Corp was largely shielded from the crisis as is evident from its recently reported Q4 2020 (ended May 4, 2020) results, where FIZZ saw a 9.4% rise in net sales compared to Q3 2020 led by strong growth in the sparkling beverage segment and healthy demand growth for its prime brand LaCroix, with FIZZ adding 3 new flavors - LimonCello, Pastèque, and Hi-Biscus. The growth could have been even better in the absence of the current pandemic, where the company also faced supply constraints.
However, the gradual lifting of lockdowns is also giving investors confidence that developed markets may have put the worst of the pandemic behind them. Following the Fed stimulus — which helped set a floor on fear — the market has been willing to “look through” the current weak period and take a longer-term view, with investors now mainly focusing their attention on 2021 results. Ending lockdowns will help in increasing demand further while supply impediments ease. Currently, with the traditional food-service distribution channel temporarily closed, the company is now dependent on the remaining two of its three core channels: take-home and convenience. With take-home and convenience being high-margin channels, it could prove to be beneficial for the company’s bottom line. However, FIZZ is currently entirely dependent on LaCroix to drive sales growth. Though the company looks to venture out of North America into emerging markets, the sales growth will not accrue immediately, with organic growth from LaCroix being the only source of top line expansion for the company, which will be modest in the near term in the absence of any meaningful acquisition. The company is rightly focused on its stimulus plan which emphasizes volume, operating margin, capacity, innovation, and cash flow. Though this was reflected in the Q4 results to a certain extent, with net income rising 38.6% on a sequential basis (note: Q4 had 1 week extra), we do not believe that this warrants the sharp rise in stock price that was seen over the last few weeks, as for the full year (FY2020) net income margin actually declined.
With the company wholly dependent on organic growth in one market and with only one quarter of sharp margin growth in recent times in its books, we believe that FIZZ will have to demonstrate consistent improvement in margins for it to warrant a higher intrinsic value. It is likely that the market exuberance could die out if the next couple of quarters continue to see deterioration in margins as was the case over the last 2 years, and National Beverage Corp’s stock could drop close to $50, reflecting an over 20% potential downside.
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What you eat can’t entirely keep the flu away, but there are some things you can reach for that can help you steer clear of those dreaded aches and pains. At the top of the list are garlic, wild-caught salmon, green tea, yogurt, dark chocolate, sweet potatoes, strawberries and almonds.
“To help fight off germs, seek out foods that are rich in vitamin C,” said Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, a nutritionist...Read more »
There is perhaps nothing greater than a boozy brunch in New York City. You can indulge in your favorite sweet or savory dishes while drowning your ambitious New Year’s resolutions in unlimited cocktails — all the while knowing that your designated driver is just a click away.
Recently, Crown (24 E. 81st St.) began offering a “Bubbly Jazz Brunch,” which combines not just unlimited Bellinis...Read more »
This year’s Super Bowl may not feature any hometown teams, but those attending the big game will still be able to get a taste of the Big Apple.
More than a dozen MetLife Stadium concession items created specially for the game are inspired by the city’s diverse food scene.
“New York has so many flavors and textures,” said Eric Borgia, executive chef for Delaware North Sportservice, which...Read more »
With dueling delis, doughnut shops, and desserts for delivery in every direction in New York, there are dozens upon dozens of delicious places to dine — and ditch.
Although many eateries haven’t officially declared war, with similar menu items — and considering they share a street or an avenue — it’s fair to say that food feuds are brewing throughout the blocks of the boroughs.
From...Read more »
As parents know all too well, most kids are major (and likely exclusive) fans of white foods, pasta, bread, rice. Getting the young ones to eat their greens, oranges and yellows is not always an easy feat.
But it’s an important one.
“The more deeply pigmented a food is, the healthier it is,” explains Frances Largeman-Roth, nutritionist and author of “Eating in Color: Delicious,...Read more »
Emergency food providers across the five boroughs are feeling the strain from a recent cut to the federal food stamp program, according to a report by the Food Bank for New York City released yesterday.
A temporary increase to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, expired on Nov. 1 and the program was hit with a $5 billion cut.
The loss amounts to an average of $29...Read more »
Hundreds of fast food workers Thursday held another protest against low wages at major chain restaurants.
Employees of McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's and other restaurants joined with union members and elected officials across the city in seeking a $15 an hour wage. The protest, part of a nationwide action, ended at a rally in Foley Square.
Protesting workers said they do more than...Read more »
One year after their first strike action, some city fast food workers are today expected to again walk off their jobs in a continued push for a $15 minimum wage and the right to unionize without retaliation.
New York is one of now 100 cities participating in the push to goad fast food companies to hike pay and improve the working conditions for cashiers, cooks, food prep workers and supervisors.
"I...Read more »
Time-pressed New Yorkers still want their food fast. But, increasingly, they want it fresher, better and healthier.
While the number of Burger Kings dropped from 92 in 2008 to 83 this year and Wendy’s went from 50 to 43 in the same period, salad joints are growing, according to a report issued by the Center for an Urban Future. Chop’t jumped from eight locations last year to 11 this year....Read more »
The stock market and luxury housing construction aren't the only things on the upswing in the Big Apple: so is hunger, according to a new report issued by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.
"While the wealthy have better gourmet food than ever, one in six of our neighbors is struggling against hunger," said Joel Berg, the coalition's executive director, in a statement.
Food...Read more »


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According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, rising food prices have exacerbated food insecurity in poorer countries.
Some countries may face long-term famine if Ukraine’s exports are not restored to pre-war levels, according to the BBC.
The conflict has cut off supplies from Ukraine’s ports, which used to export massive amounts of cooking oil as well as cereals like maize and wheat.
This has reduced global supply and driven up the cost of alternatives. According to the UN, global food prices are nearly 30% higher than this time last year.
According to Guterres, the conflict, combined with the effects of climate change and the pandemic “threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine”.
“There is enough food in our world now if we act together. But unless we solve this problem today, we face the spectre of global food shortage in the coming months,” he added, BBC reported.
He warned that reintegrating Ukraine’s food production, as well as fertilizer produced by both Russia and Belarus, back into the global market was the only effective solution to the crisis.
Russia and Ukraine produce 30% of the world’s wheat supply, and Ukraine was regarded as the world’s bread basket prior to the war, exporting 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports.
However, since Russia’s invasion began in February, exports have collapsed and prices have skyrocketed. They rose even higher after India prohibited wheat exports on Saturday.
According to the UN, approximately 20 million tonnes of grain are currently stuck in Ukraine from the previous harvest, which, if released, could relieve pressure on global markets, as reported by the BBC.


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Why the change? Are the newer consoles better for gold farming?
China has officially overturned a 13-year ban on gaming consoles by allowing the production and sale of “gaming entertainment” in the newly created Shanghai Free Trade Zone. The official pronouncement by the State Council on Monday will open the way for foreign companies like Microsoft and Sony to sell their wares nationwide …
if you're playing a "bloody first person shooter" on a console you're doing it wrong. no mouse.
Seems like console players disagree with you.
For me, there is no better combination than Microsoft Strategic Commander and mouse, preferably loaded with buttons as well.
There are never enough buttons....
<turns away muttering to himself>
Pirated software rules in China - there isn't really any concept of copyright in a country where everyone is used to sharing and getting everyingthing from housing to education to hospitals for free. There's no money in the consoles - it's through games licenses that Sony and Microsoft get all their money.
When I was in China in 2005 I visited a 1,000 seat cyber cafe and it was full. It was full of people playing pretty much the same game and paying by the hour. The software company that wrote the game gave it away for free and home access (over the state run ISP) was paid for with scratch cards bought at convenience stores - rather like you pay for phone calls on pay as you go.
The reason why MMORPG's are popular (1 million concurrent on-line users is not uncommon on platforms such as "Journey to the West") apart from the collective culture is because companies - state and private - simply cannot make any money out of selling the software. Instead the the only business model that works is the subscription service model.
Biting the hand that feeds IT © 1998–2017


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Existing homes sales remain high, but inventory is “historically low”
September sales for existing homes beat August’s 14-year record
Sales for previously owned homes surged for a fourth consecutive month, but the number of properties for sale sunk to a new low.
In September, 6.5 million homes sold, seasonally adjusted, according to the National Association of Realtors’ monthly report — a jump of 9.4 percent compared to August. Sales were also up 21 percent year-over-year.
While demand is high, supply is low: Existing housing inventory sank to a record low of 1.47 million, which would be sold within 2.7 months at the current sales rate.
September’s inventory is a 1.3 percent drop compared to August levels, and about 19 percent compared to September 2019.
The median sales price continued to climb, clocking in at more than $311,000. The median sales price for existing homes surpassed $300,000 for the first time in July.
According to NAR, 71 percent of the 6.5 million homes sold were on the market for less than a month. About a third of September’s homebuyers were purchasing their first home, while 12 percent of buyers were snapping up a second home or investment property.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said September’s surge in sales deviates from the typical dropoff that occurs at the start of fall. He attributed the difference in consumer behavior to low mortgage rates and “an abundance of buyers,” in part those looking for vacation homes now that working from home has become more prevalent.
Yun noted that low inventory continues to represent a significant headwind for the sales market.
“There is no shortage of hopeful, potential buyers, but inventory is historically low,” he said. “We have seen some homebuilders move to ramp up supply, but a need for even more production still exists.”


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Despite the frothy headlines stirred by Twitter's initial public offering, tech is not in a bubble of the sort that arose before the 2000 dot-com crash.
Twitter made its IPO documents public Thursday and in the process revealed some juicy information about the company, like how much money it makes (or loses) and how much its executives get paid. Here are a few of the details we learned about Twitter ...
Part two of a two-part series. For a contrarian view, see "Why PCs, not smartphones, are best for social media sharing."
Facebook, which had been in the doghouse with Wall Street since it went public, wowed investors with its third-quarter report on Tuesday, in particular with its improvements and early results in the crucial mobile market.
Facebook is getting serious about on-the-go social networking with a suite of new features announced during the Facebook Mobile event on Wednesday.
Facebook has been in the media spotlight this year over privacy concerns, thanks in part cases such as the horrific murder of Sydney teenager Nona Belomesoff.
Facebook, the company many people don't trust to protect their status updates and personal information, is now in the business of collecting location information, thanks to the introduction of its Foursquare/Gowalla killer, Facebook Places.
Twitter has more than 100 million users, which means you're bound to encounter a lot of noise. You'll find brands hawking their products or services, some users tweeting the mundane details of their everyday lives and spammers insisting you check out...
Quick: Who's the CEO of Facebook?
Twitter is the social networking phenomenon that allows people to express what nobody else cares about in 140 characters or less and share it with the unsuspecting masses. It's like Facebook, minus all the things that make Facebook useful and enterta...
Was Facebook ever meant to be this controversial?
Facebook, according to its CEO, is built around the simple idea that people want to share things with "their friends and the people around them."
Want an expert lesson in how to respond without actually responding and how to apologize without saying you're sorry? Then you need to read Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg's quasi-mea culpa in today's Washington Post. Do it now; I'll wait.
New Yorker Barry Hoggard draws a line in the sand when it comes to online privacy. In May he said farewell to 1251 Facebook friends by deleting his account of four years to protest what he calls the social network's eroding privacy policies.
Just how much personal information are you releasing when you use Facebook? Facebook may be giving third-party advertisers your personal information without you realising.
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Microsoft on Monday announced pricing for its Office 2011 for Mac productivity suite, and the cost savings are dramatic, particularly for business users. Redmond’s two editions of Office 2011 for Mac, slated to ship in October, will cost 20 to 50 percent less than their Office 2008 predecessors.
Specifically, Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 will cost $119 for a single license, and $149 for a family pack that installs on up to three Macs. By comparison, Office 2008 Home and Student Edition costs $149.
Not impressed? Well, the price cut is downright jaw-dropping for the Office 2011 professional edition. Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 will cost $199 for a single license, and $279 for two machines. That’s a huge reduction from the $399 business version of Office 2008.
Microsoft’s aggressive pricing is certainly good news for Mac shops planning to upgrade to Office 2011. But what’s behind Redmond’s cost-cutting ways?
Some pretty loud footsteps, probably.
It’s no secret that Google’s slate of office productivity tools, including Google Docs, is gaining adherents in businesses both small and large. And Google last week announced a new edition of its cloud-based Google Apps messaging and collaboration software for government customers.
However, the search giant’s business-software launch hasn’t been perfect. The company recently missed a June deadline to deliver a secure e-mail system to the City of Los Angeles, which plans to replace its current Novell Groupwise platform with Google’s more economical Gmail. And the powerful Microsoft Office is far more sophisticated than Google’s relatively feeble competitor, an advantage that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
Still, Microsoft’s 50-percent price cut for the business edition of Office 2011 sends a not-too-subtle message to Mac business users: Don’t leave us.
Interestingly, Redmond didn’t adopt the same bargain-bonanza strategy with Office 2010 for Windows, which arrived in June. Oddly enough, the company even dropped its traditional upgrading pricing, which offered a discount to users moving up from an earlier version to Office.
For business users, the end of upgrade pricing makes Office 2010 a less-appealing proposition. Office 2010 Professional’s single-license key card version is $349–that’s about $20 more than Office 2007 Professional’s upgrade price. The boxed version of Office 2010 Professional is even higher at $499
Office 2010 is still new, however, and it remains to be seen how enthusiastically both business and consumer users respond to Microsoft’s pricing.
If a migration to Google Docs picks up steam, it wouldn’t be a shocker to see those Office 2011 for Mac discounts migrate to Office 2010 too.
Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter
http://twitter.com/jbertolucci or at


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Year-on-year, exports rose 2.0 percent to MYR 64.50 billion in September. The main contributors to the increase were electrical and electronic products (+5.3 percent to MYR 23.0 billion and accounting for about 35.6 percent of total shipments), palm oil and palm oil-based products (+16.3 percent to MYR 6.3 billion and accounting for 9.7 percent of total overseas sales), timber and timber-based products (+8.9 percent to MYR 1.7 billion and accounting for 2.7 percent to total) and liquefied natural gas (+2.4 percent to MYR 5.0 billion and accounting for 7.8 percent). In contrast, exports declined for petroleum products (-15.1 percent to MYR 4.3 billion and accounting for 6.6 percent), natural rubber (-50.7 percent to MYR 305.6 million, accounting for 0.5 percent of total sales) and crude petroleum (-9.0 percent to MYR 2.9 billion and accounting for 4.6 percent).
On annual basis, exports to India rose the most by MYR 1.3 billion, followed by the US (MYR 791.5 million), Singapore (MYR 718.5 million) and Indonesia (MYR 434.4 million).
Imports increased 1.1 percent to MYR 55.2 billion, mainly attributed to higher purchases of intermediate goods (+11.2 percent to MYR 35.0 billion and accounting for 63.4 percent of total purchases). Imports were lower for consumption goods (-1.0 percent to MYR 4.0 billion, accounting for 7.2 percent of total) and capital goods (-19.3 percent to MYR 7.0 billion, representing for 12.5 percent).
The country imported mainly from China (MYR 1.1 billion), Costa Rica (MYR 946.9 million), Saudi Arabia (MYR 669.2 million) and Australia (MYR 556.3 million).
In August of 2014, Malaysia registered a MYR 3.86 billion trade surplus.
During January to September of 2014, the country's major trading partners were China with 14.1 percent market share, followed by Singapore (13.5 percent), The EU countries (9.8 percent), Japan (9.6 percent) and the US (8.0 percent).


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We now have an amazing group of friends and partners acting as Official World Squash Day shirt suppliers in various parts of the globe.
The latest to come on board are Steve and Lisa Walton, from Inform Connection, the largest squash retailer in Australia.
The red T-shirts for Australia can be ordered here: https://www.squash.com.au/
In the UK and Ireland, shirts can be ordered from Pete Smith at Recognition Trophies. He can be contacted at: email@example.com
In mainland Europe, Polish company Stacja Nadruke are teaming up with Polski Squash and their impressive variety of designs will be available throughout the whole of mainland Europe.
Slogans (below) include “Born to Play Squash”, and the same wording as the UK shirt with the phrase “Squash: The Best game for Fun and Fitness”, plus a graphic showing squash’s Evolution.
Clubs and federations can make significant savings on bulk orders.
Huge thanks to Bartek Gil and Rosanna Radlinska for their efforts to pull this together.
Facebook link: www.facebook.com/stacjanadruku
Order your shirts here:
In Canada and the USA, the highly-acclaimed Squash Republic company have produced some wonderful designs.
Squash Republic is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is internationally renowned for their superb graphics and squash clothing. They’ve worked with the PSA, Squash Canada and NY Squash to name a few.
Owner Robert Pacey said: “We are delighted to join forces with World Squash Day to help grow the game in Canada, the United States and beyond.
“The roots of World Squash Day are firmly embedded in American soil following the terrible tragedies of 9/11 when a large number of squash players were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
“We know that World Squash Day was founded to honour those players and also to do something tangible for the game. We’re proud to be part of a growing campaign that aims to add one million players to the game!”
“We can’t wait until October 12 and World Squash Day and we look forward to featuring a number of Canadian squash star players in the World Squash Day campaign.”
World Squash Day Partnership and Shirt Designs: https://squashrepublic.com/squash-republic-supports-world-squash-day-2019/


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Samsung has a 4K Blu-ray player coming in 2016
Samsung's new player supports 4K Blu-ray playback, giving users more to watch on their glossy new panels. The product, which was announced at the IFA show in Berlin, will also support upscaling and streaming services.
Ultra HD TVs are a dime a dozen these days, and their prices have come down quite a bit. But if you put such a high-res panel in your home, you're left with one big issue – there still isn't much content that will take full advantage of the hardware. That's where Samsung's new player steps in, giving users the opportunity to watch the latest releases in glorious 3,840 x 2,160 resolution.
You might remember that Panasonic had a 4K Blu Ray player back at CES in January, but that product was only a prototype, and has yet to make its way onto shelves. Samsung's player is a little different in that regard. While we don't know exactly when it will land or how much it will cost when it does, we do know that the company plans to give it a commercial launch.
The new player will support UHD Blu-ray disk playback, providing users with four times the resolution of standard Blu-rays, and with 64 times higher color expression. The hardware is also capable of upscaling lower resolution disk content to UHD, and will support 4K streaming services.
Samsung has also paid attention to the design of the player. It might look like a simple black box at first glance, but looks closer and you'll see that it has a curved design, and will look right at home alongside the company's curved TV and curved sound bar offerings.
As we mentioned, there's no pricing for the new Ultra HD Blu-ray player just yet, but Samsung did say that it's scheduled to land some time in 2016.


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FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas has asked for outside bids to operate its main campus bookstore, requiring interested companies to commit to keeping full-time employees for six months.
But the long-term outlook for those workers would remain uncertain as the campus bookstore industry undergoes change related to the increased use of digital course materials, experts said.
"For the whole industry, the whole challenge is then, 'How do you bring traffic into the bookstore if it's digital content and it's being purchased online?" said Jonathan Bibo, chief executive officer for the Independent College Bookstore Association, which includes the UA bookstore as a member.
The university listed 16 full-time bookstore positions in documents released with its request for proposals, an employee total that includes one worker identified as a supervisor for the university-operated Razorback Shop at a mall location in Rogers.
The request for bids states UA is open to management bids for both its main campus bookstore and the Rogers location, together or separately. The document states UA may "no-award" the request if it "deems the Proposals are not in the best interests of the University." Bids were due Sept. 25, the document states. It also lists Jan. 1 as an "anticipated start date" for management services.
When stores are operated by outside entities, worker "benefits and salaries are not the same," said James Howard, academic materials manager for the OSU Beaver Store, a student-governed, nonprofit organization serving Oregon State University.
Howard said he's worked nearly three decades in the campus bookstore retail industry. He said colleagues at various schools have described how things can change when stores go from independent to being operated by corporations.
"They did not get retained. They made too much money beforehand as state employees," Howard said, describing the experience of some workers who had to reapply for positions after a management change.
Other times, workers kept their jobs but lost benefits, Howard said.
"State benefits, no matter where you are, are pretty good," Howard said.
Benefits for workers at UA include tuition waivers for employees and their families, university contributions to health insurance and retirement programs that provide university contributions of 5% to 10% of an employee's salary, according to UA's website.
Salaries listed for 15 full-time main campus bookstore workers range from $22,106 for a shipping and receiving clerk to $54,989 for a textbooks manager, according to the request for proposals, with the average salary at $34,264.
In a statement, Mark Rushing, a UA spokesman, referred to the bid request document, which states university workers would "become full-time employees of the Contractor." He said the university's goal "is to ensure that the selected vendor provides compensation and benefits similar to what the university is providing to those employees at the time of the change."
Financial data provided by UA to the Democrat-Gazette showed the bookstore's income exceeded expenses last year, fiscal 2019, with $13.62 million in income and $13.16 million in operating expenses.
But the financial information also showed annual debt service of about $1.03 million for the year, and Rushing said in a statement that the university has "an aggressive debt service schedule to pay for the facility in 20 years, 10 years shorter than the normal 30-year timeframe." The approximately 21,760-square-foot main store is housed in the Garland Center, which opened in 2010.
"And we fully expect that the bookstore's income will be greater than the total operating expenses, including the debt service payments for the construction of the facility, in the near future," Rushing said.
Published financial schedules and data provided by UA for bookstore operations show that three out of the last four fiscal years, revenue exceeded expenditures. But all four years ran at a loss if yearly debt service payments of approximately $1 million are factored in, and store operations over the same time period have seen revenue steadily decline from about $16.16 million in 2015-16.
A report from Duvall Consulting Group LLC stated the "University of Arkansas bookstore has been suffering financial losses for several years and changes need to be made to manage financial risk." The report offered "two potential operational options": outsourcing, or to engage a consultant "to help operate and improve the store for the critical summer/early fall time."
The university released a mostly redacted version of the report under the state's public disclosure law after a Democrat-Gazette request for bookstore consulting reports dated on or after Jan. 1, 2018.
Contract records released by UA state the university had paid $161,219.85 to Duvall Consulting as of July 30, 2018 for bookstore consulting services, with a contract to extend into 2019. However, UA, in a letter on Nov. 30, 2018, informed Duvall Consulting that it was terminating the contract.
The bid request states that the campus bookstore provides "course material for all classes offered by UA." Bidders are asked to provide detailed information about textbook pricing and "plans to deal effectively with changing types of course materials."
The request for proposals also indicates a desire to boost sales of non-textbook merchandise.
Limited financial data included in the request for bids shows textbook sales of $5.25 million through some point in June of fiscal 2019, which ended June 30.
But millions are also generated by selling other items.
Even stripping away computer sales at the bookstore -- as bid request documents state that a computer store will be managed by the university -- the campus bookstore sold $2.64 million in "Razorback Shop" merchandise, as well as $1.13 million in supplies over the same fiscal 2019 time period.
The university has asked bidders to submit, in addition to other financial details, a "detailed description of Respondent's plan to increase sales of emblematic and logo merchandise, clothing and gifts," as well as a marketing plan for selling logo merchandise via the bookstore's website.
The university states in the document it is seeking store management "committed to providing a vibrant destination place for its constituents to gather and create connections, as well as, a place to purchase textbooks, sports apparel, trade books, souvenirs, merchandise and much more."
Bibo, with the Independent College Bookstore Association, said that nationally, about 1,650 campus bookstores are self-operating. Companies that operate campus bookstores include Follett Higher Education Group, which is described on its website as managing more than 1,200 stores in North America, and Barnes & Noble College, which states on its website it operates 773 campus stores nationwide.
In the past, UA has leased out bookstore operations. The university's nine-year deal with Follett ended in 2002.
Among other large public universities in the region that responded to Democrat-Gazette queries, a University of Missouri spokesman stated the school operates its campus bookstore. Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University have Barnes & Noble campus bookstores, spokesmen for the schools said.
"Most college stores, the goal is to try to break even," said Rich Hershman, vice president of government relations for the National Association of College Stores, adding that "it really goes back to how the university is defining the mission of the store."
NW News on 10/22/2019


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PANAJI: It's usually brushed off as a bland, leathery meat, but this Christmas, Goans seem to be gobbling up an unusually large share of roast turkey-the soaring prices notwithstanding.
According to the animal husbandry department, this season saw 7,000 to 8,000 turkeys brought to Goa. "Most of these birds were brought in from Bangalore, and a few from farms around Pune. People are realizing that a turkey, when cooked well, can be delicious. It is the high price that makes it a seasonal delicacy," says Dr Benjamin Braganca, director of the department.
Supermarkets across the state have been charging 600 per kilo for raw turkey, but more people have opted for the ready-to-eat version-a stuffed and roasted bird, glazed with sticky sauce and surrounded by sides of fruit and vegetables, on offer at several departmental stores.
Until the 24th, a local retail chain of supermarkets had received orders for around 50 birds. "Initially, we began stocking turkey for European expats, but a majority of our customers now are Goans who have acquired a taste for the bird," says Mishal Maganlal, partner with the chain. "We offered a whole stuffed turkey platter for 3,995-with a choice of pork, chicken or Mediterranean vegetable-stuffing, to be drizzled with cranberry or apple sauce." Those who pick up raw turkeys are likely to prepare it Goan-style, with spicy masala, he adds.
At a five-star resort in Miramar, a take-away roast turkey would set you back by 19,000 plus taxes, for a 3.5 to 4 kilo bird. "Our reservations for turkey lunches and dinners on Christmas day are in full swing, but we have already received orders worth over 2 lakh for takeaway turkey lunches. The price does not seem to matter for customers who want an edible centerpiece that will also be a feast for the eyes," says a manager from the resort.
However, traditional Goan kitchens still stick to their pork and pulao spreads. Says Dona Paula-resident Maria Pinto, "What's Christmas without a home-cooked feast? Only lazy people would pick up a roast chicken or turkey from a restaurant or supermarket. We like to have a traditional pork roast, with vindaloo or sorpotel and pulao."
Grandmother Agnes Finch counters that Christmas should be time spent with family and friends, and not slogging it over the stove. "If you have the choice of ordering in a delicious roast turkey why would you choose to cook on Christmas day? My grandchildren are visiting from the UK, and they love watching their father carve the bird. And for New Year's, we have already ordered for a 3.5-kilo roast suckling pig, with crispy crackling skin," she says, visions of the caramel-coloured piglet already dancing in her eyes.
Braganca predicts that five years down the line, turkey meat will become commonplace in Goa. "Goan poultry farmers prefer not to venture into turkey-breeding, because it is an expensive, labour-intensive prospect. The first 30 days of a turkey's life are crucial, when the bird has to be taken care of extremely well. Goa's humid climate is not exactly optimum for turkey-farming, but with a little encouragement from the government, it can be done," he says.


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Revolt Against High Prices of Food
Boycotting of supermarkets by housewives in the autumn of 1966 introduced an unexpected and, some say, irrational element into the complex network of food marketing practices that bear on the cost of feeding the American family. The reaction of the big stores was prompt. Many of them quickly knocked down prices of key grocery items, even as store officials protested that their margins of profit were already too slim. It remains to be seen whether the women's effort to bring economic pressure on the retailer—an apparently spontaneous movement which spread across the country with little sparking from established consumer organizations—will have a lasting effect on established food pricing mechanisms.
At the very least, the housewives' protest has served to remind ...


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Japan’s single-minded focus on high precision seems to be clashing with India’s chalta hai (we’ll make do) attitude in its efforts to persuade its manufacturers to diversify investments from China to the country.
Despite India featuring prominently in the list of Asian countries promoted by Japan as an alternative destination to China through subsidies and a separate ¥1-billion fund assigned for supporting businesses in the country, there haven’t been too many takers for it so far.
“India insists on the companies bringing their entire supply chains to India but Japanese companies want to move ahead step by step by sourcing highly sophisticated inputs from other countries in the beginning. Because of this many Japanese companies are moving their investments to other South Asian countries rather than coming to India,” a Japanese government official explained to BusinessLine.
In order to configure supply chains for products with complex manufacturing processes, such as medical devices and batteries, at the fastest possible speed, it is necessary to have step-by-step and careful discussions for each product, based on the supply chains that are currently spread around the world, the officer pointed out.
“We have been trying to explain to India that Japanese companies are not comfortable moving their entire supply chains of sophisticated products to the country all at one go as it might affect the quality of the finished products. If it is done in phases, it will work out well for both countries,” the official said.
Based on the examples of other countries, a step-by-step discussion is likely to result in the fastest and most efficient growth of Indian industry, he added.
Fifth largest investor
Japan is the fifth largest investor in the Indian economy with cumulative FDI inflows of $34.5 billion in the April 2000 to December 2020 period accounting for 7 per cent of total FDI inflows in the same period. Some of the prominent Japanese investments in India include Maruti Suzuki, Uniqlo, Mitsubishi Group, Mitsui and Honda.
In its 2020 supplemental budget, Japan allocated 23.5 billion yen to fund subsidies meant to encourage firms to partly exit China and disperse their manufacturing sites across the ASEAN region. It later extended it also for investments in Bangladesh and India.
But this has not yet led to any substantial additional investments from Japan as companies initially want to keep sourcing high-precision inputs from other countries while doing the assembly in India. Japanese businesses are apprehensive about the predictability of Indian policies as the recent curbs on trade and investment flow from bordering countries including China by India has upset the production plans of several Japanese companies already manufacturing in India with inputs sourced from Beijing.
“The Japanese government has decided to use the budget for supply chain resilience in the best way possible given the present scenario. We are planning to subsidise projects like visualisation/upgradation of manufacturing sector. These will help realise supply chain resilience and industrious competitiveness through digitalisation of supply chain of sectors such as automobile, appliances, medical equipment and food processing sectors,” the official said.
Logistics projects to realise supply chain resilience and optimisation of logistics through establishment of system to understand logistics in real-time may also be funded. Projects to reduce time for customs clearance through establishment of systems to predict arrival timing of the freights and diversification of supply chain are also on the list.


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What happens in Vegas…happened again this year!
Only this year, it was BIGGER and BETTER than the last time! This year’s WISPAPALOOZA began with a weekend full of fiberoptic training covering the entire ecosystem of fiber deployments. In addition to the fiber training, the conference featured seven days of hands-on training, interactive sessions on technical aspects, business challenges and success stories, marketing and sales tips and strategies and updates on our nation’s regulatory environment in the telecommunications industry. The conference hosted an Exhibit Hall with approximately 100 vendors and had over 1,000 attendees.
Ubiquiti Networks also announced its new products available and the launch of the Ubiquiti Worldwide Network(TM) (beta), which is a global alliance of individual wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) working toward a single vision that leverages a unified technology platform to help foster growth and innovation among WISPs. Below is a link to a 1:30 commercial video that you might start seeing on your local and national network TV stations. Check it out!


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Bullitt back on the streets. Special-edition Mustang recreates the original’s moves.
Ford revealed a Bullitt edition of its recently revised Mustang at last January’s Detroit show. In June it announced that the celebratory tribute to the car ragged through San Franciscos streets by Steve McQueen in the Bullitt film was available to order in Europe, priced in the UK from £47,000. And to mark the new model’s arrival precisely half a century after the release of the film that included the most famous car chase in Hollywood history, the 2018 Mustang Bullitt has starred in a re-make of some of the original car’s action images.
One key difference between the regular Mustang V8 and the Bullitt version is an extra dose of power, achieved with free- flowing air filters, bigger throttle bodies and a management re-map. US cars were promised 481bhp at launch but Europe’s cars are rated at 459bhp – still plenty for a 5.0-litre engine with atmospheric induction. Other Bullitt identifiers are pared-down exterior detailing, black five-spoke wheels, red-painted Brembo brake calipers, lightweight Recaro seats and metallic Highland Green paint, is colour is an option, with Shadow Black as standard.
The six-speed manual transmission features both a white, spherical gearlever knob and the ability to blip engine revs up to the required speed for a smooth downshift, the better to recreate Bullitt’s soundtrack.
Ford, meanwhile, reports that it has just built the ten-millionth Mustang since 1964.


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Africa’s e-commerce potential can be unlocked through enhanced connectivity, local content, and targeted policies vital for growth, according to a new report.
In a collaborative effort between the GSMA and the United Kingdom’s Department for Business and Trade, a groundbreaking report titled “E-commerce in Africa: Unleashing the Opportunity for MSMEs” was unveiled during the 2023 Mobile World Congress in Kigali, Rwanda. The GSM Association (GMSA) is a non-profit industry organization that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.
Africa’s e-commerce potential
The report sheds light on the immense potential for e-commerce in Africa, emphasizing the need for improved connectivity, localized content, and strategic policies. The report is based on interviews conducted with 1,500 MSMEs utilizing e-commerce in various African nations, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Experts from these countries, as well as Rwanda, Senegal, and Tanzania, were also interviewed to provide a comprehensive market understanding.
Enhanced connectivity is key to Africa’s e-commerce growth
Recent years have witnessed a significant improvement in connectivity and the adoption of mobile technology across Africa. However, the report reveals that, in 2022, only 400 million out of the 1.4 billion people on the continent engaged with e-commerce services, indicating substantial room for expansion in the sector.
Daniele Tricarico, Senior Director of Central Insights and M&E at GSMA, emphasized that e-commerce adoption is on the rise. Market forecasts project nearly 600 million online shoppers in Africa by 2027. However, the report highlights several challenges faced by MSMEs, such as the need for capital, training, logistical obstacles, and trust issues affecting the uptake of e-commerce services.
The report identifies various barriers, including limited financial resources, digital skills gaps, regulatory challenges, low digital payment adoption, and issues related to logistics and delivery. It also addresses factors such as smartphone penetration, digital literacy, and the trustworthiness of online purchases as impediments to e-commerce.
Recommendations for boosting Africa’s e-commerce sector
In response to these challenges, the report offers a series of recommendations aimed at fostering e-commerce growth in Africa.
The report suggests providing financial products and reskilling opportunities to assist MSMEs in embracing e-commerce. This will enable them to enhance operational efficiency and drive business growth.
One critical recommendation is to improve connectivity, particularly in rural areas, and make smartphones more affordable. This will facilitate broader access to e-commerce platforms.
To boost trust and security in online transactions, the report encourages the review of policies and laws for better consumer protection and business clarity. Shifting from cash on delivery to digital payments and improving reliable and affordable delivery and transport systems are also suggested.
Supporting female entrepreneurs in e-commerce
The report emphasizes the importance of supporting women entrepreneurs, who often rely on social media to promote their businesses. Targeted interventions, including upskilling, can further empower them in building successful e-commerce enterprises.
Partnership with UK’s Department for Business and Trade
Jamila Saidi, Head of Digital Commerce at the UK’s Department of Business and Trade, underscored Africa’s potential to drive global e-commerce, cross-border trade, and digital entrepreneurship. The collaboration between GSMA and the UK Department for Business and Trade aims to address these opportunities and challenges.
A vision for Africa’s economic advancement
In a fireside chat at the report’s launch event, Lucky Philip, CIO of the Rwanda Development Board, highlighted technology and services as integral to Rwanda’s aspiration to achieve upper-middle-income status by 2050. He emphasized the importance of a robust regulatory environment and the country’s efforts to attract and retain investments.
For further insights and access to the full report, please visit this link.
For more trade news, visit our dedicated portal.


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Ten months ago, the American news agency Bloomberg published a sensational story claiming that Chinese spies had corrupted the tech supply chain and installed small chips on motherboards which were supplied to the American company Supermicro Computer. Despite being met by a storm of denial, the likes of which is rarely seen, Bloomberg has neither retracted nor corrected the yarn till today.
Anti-corporate activist group SumofUs has launched a campaign against tech corporation Apple’s compliance with the Chinese government’s censorship demands in order to remain operating in the world’s most populous country.
The two largest smartphone sellers Samsung and Huawei managed to defy the global smartphone decline in shipments and grow numbers shipped solidly in the second quarter of 2019. Meanwhile third placed Apple saw iPhone shipments decline precipitously, according to a new report from global research firm Canalysis.
Commenting on the Oxford Economics report, Jeremy Mitchell, Director of Corporate Affairs at Huawei says the decision to ban Huawei[…]
Big whoop. They made the first telephone call in 1879. LOL. Stupid fascist scammers don't fool anyone with their high[…]
One look at the front page of the Oxford Economics report emblazoned with a Huawei Logo should be an indicator[…]
It would be nice if they also included party political influence on news and the refusal of FOI requests by[…]
Thx for this article Peter - as usual there will be nit pickers believing the disproven allegations about Huawei specifically,[…]


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Volkswagen hopes to score the same goal on Hyundai during this year's World Cup in Brazil. Hyundai and Kia have been official sponsors of the global soccer federation FIFA since 2002 and are official sponsors of the World Cup through 2022. VW has "a major ad buy" planned to run on ABC, ESPN and Univision as well as digital and social media channels during the competition, which begins June 12, to promote the GTI. VW of America's VP of marketing said the Cup's attraction to young males and Hispanics makes it the perfect place to promote the hot hatch.
The sparring between Hyundai and VW has already begun. Volkswagen's Gol compact, named for the Portuguese word for a soccer goal, has been the best selling car in Brazil for 27 years, and the German company sponsors the national soccer team. When Hyundai Brazil began a promotional campaign promising to extend its five-year warranty for six if the Brazilians won a sixth world cup, Volkswagen of Brazil complained to the soccer federation, which asked Hyundai to pull the campaign. As of this writing, that hasn't happened, so we expect it'll be boots on, gloves off, on and off the pitch this summer.


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Most people would probably be pretty happy if there was an Xbox One under the tree this holiday season. Still, if you know someone who always likes to go for that little bit extra (and has buckets of money just lying around), you might point them in the direction of this gold Xbox One that Harrods is doing.
The console first showed up on Reddit's r/gaming subreddit. The photo posted to Reddit was captured by SirSyhn, who said he saw it at Harrods in London with a price tag of £6,000. According to Crave, there's only one of these, so the person who buys this can sleep soundly knowing they're the only gamer with this particular blinged-out Xbox One in their sitting room.
Microsoft launched the Xbox One in late November but last week confirmed that it had already sold two million units to date. Microsoft sold one million units in the first 24 hours of availability. The company on Thursday announced that in the 18 days since launch, the Xbox One was selling an average of 111,111 units per day worldwide. According to Amazon, peak demand saw 1,000 units ordered every minute.
The Xbox One launched in North America, parts of Europe, Australia and Brazil on November 22 (it will hit Japan and the rest of Europe in 2014). Just three days later, Microsoft announced that it had sold one million consoles in less than 24 hours. The newest Xbox features an octo-core x86 processor, 8 GB of RAM, 500 GB of storage and a Blu-ray/DVD drive. It also comes with Microsoft's brand new Kinect 2 sensor as well as a redesigned Xbox controller.


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Providing financing to the smallest of businesses—those with no or under 10 employees—is a problem that some believe is unsolvable. Virtually all women-owned businesses have no or fewer than 10 employees.*
The Covid-19 pandemic and the distribution of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans exposed challenges that the smallest of businesses faced in getting these loans. The ignition of the Black Lives Matters movement after the killing of George Floyd continued to focus the media on social injustice.
Fintech startups emerged after the 2007-2009 financial crisis, proving that there is a way to advance financial inclusivity and provide easy access to financial services that are useful and affordable for small businesses. Fundid is taking advantage of these trends.
Stefanie Sample, founder and CEO of Fundid, is also showing that talent and opportunity is everywhere, and that solo female founders from Montana can be successful.
Sample is a successful small business owner with multiple exits. During the 15 years she ran those businesses, she never thought of her gender as a roadblock. However, “once I was considered a larger business owner and joined a business network of essentially all men—it created a barrier for what I thought was an unlimited path to success,” said Sample. “I went down a rabbit hole to better understand the issues women entrepreneurs face.”
Sample started a nonprofit to help women business owners. Very quickly, it became clear that what women entrepreneurs needed the most was money. She decided that this was a market hole that she wanted to fill. She didn’t know what that solution would be, but it became clear that fintech would be the foundation for the solution.
The truth is it was uncomfortable going back to friends and colleagues and asking for introductions over and over again. Unlike men, her network was finite. Fortunately, “I had ambassadors,” said Sample. “There were a handful of men and women who opened a lot of doors for me, and their credibility gave me credibility without me earning it.”
Businesses need money to launch, grow, consolidate debt, and cover everyday expenses. To test the waters, the first service that Sample launched was a searchable database of grants.
Grants are money given to entrepreneurial ventures by the federal, state, and local governments, philanthropists, and corporations with no expectation of repayment or a stake in the business. Currently, there is no one-stop-shop for finding out about these grants, especially those corporations offer. Everyday Fundid scrapes the internet looking for these corporate opportunities.
Eligibility requirements dramatically vary from one grant to another. There are grants available for all types of companies, with many specifically aimed toward businesses owned by women, people of color, or that target an industry, geography, or company size.
If you win a grant, it is a good source of non-dilutive funding that doesn’t have to be paid back. While you don’t give away a piece of your company, pay interest, or need to pay any money back, there may be a fair amount of work involved in applying for some grants. And in the case of government grants, there may be a lot of ongoing requirements for accountability to ensure that taxpayers’ money is being well spent. The higher the grant amount, the more work you can expect to do.
Sample’s second product will be a business-building card. This business charge card charges no interest if paid within 30 days. If the money owed is not paid in 30 days, the money converts to an installment loan with a fixed interest rate. The interest rate hasn’t been determined yet.
“We are committed to finding a way to keep the interest rate as low as possible,” said Sample. “If we find a capital partner, like a foundation, it could be super low. If we have to use a high-risk capital partner who will charge us 12%, it will be super tricky to provide a low-interest rate.”
Still, “we have to prove to the market that we can lend to this segment profitably,” said Sample. “There’s a belief that maybe these people aren’t funded for a reason. We have to overcome that belief, and that takes time.
Traction is growing. When the company launched in May of 2021, things started slowly. Now as many as 100 people per day use the grant matching service. The startup is attracting partners, too. Experian is helping to develop Fundid’s underwriting criteria. Visa Fintech Fast Track has accepted the startup into its program, which makes it easier for startups to get to market. It has a bank partner that doesn’t just want to market differently, it is committed to innovating and doing things differently. This relationship has not yet been announced.
How will you challenge the mindset that limits your growth?


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(L-R) Megan Allen, Abbey Allen Watt
MEGAN ALLEN didn't seem to bat an eye when asked whether her Georgie Beauty cosmetics venture will ever headquarter in Nashville.
Georgie's lead offering is its Winks by Georgie faux eyelash collection, 15 variations made of human hair and applied with eco- and health-friendly adhesive.
"I doubt that our business will end up in Nashville...," she recently told VNC, adding that despite the connections she and her co-founder sister, Abbey, have to their shared Vanderbilt University alma mater, "there is much more of a cosmetic industry presence in NY & LA."
There are, nonetheless, useful lessons for Nashville entrepreneurs in Allen's Georgie Beauty experience, as it has unfolded, thus far.
Just prior to her VNC interview, Allen was on the phone with the owner of another LA-based beauty site that is partnered with Facebook, and another she knows is backed by investors that are in Pinterest, she said.
She relocated from her former New York City base to LA, because "there's a ton of makeup artists, a ton of celebrities" and industry organizations in southern California, making it the perfect place to "network and grow a beauty business," she continued, adding with a slight laugh that "it doesn't hurt to be by the ocean."
Now-Los Angeles-based Allen, 29, and Abbey Allen Watt, 32, got fresh impetus for Georgie earlier this year, when Megan won entrepreneurial grants through a business-plan competition at VU's Owen Graduate School of Business, as she was finishing her MBA. Abbey resides in their hometown, Thomasville, Ga.
Megan Allen was one of two recipients of the Owen School's annual Sohr Grants, which provided $25,000 each to eco-luxe product company Georgie; and, to Contigo Financial, which seeks to provide consumer-financing alternatives for borrowers who might otherwise turn to payday lenders. Students with each of those ventures also received $15,000 entrepreneurial stipends via another dedicated fund. (Eight finalists have been selected to compete for Sohr Grants that will be announced in January 2013, according to a source familiar with the process.)
Entrepreneur Jim Sohr -- who with wife Leah Eskind Sohr underwrites the Sohr Grants -- told VNC that Megan Allen is "a classic entrepreneur. Always working, selling and building her brand. Her passion for her business is contagious and she is a tireless sales person. Her focus and energy would lead her to success in almost any business she would undertake. In short, she is a person you would bet on."
Sohr would probably know: He's the Owen alumnus and middle-Tennessee entrepreneur best known for having founded and later sold AIM Healthcare to OptumHealth's Ingenix unit in 2009, for north of $400 million. Allen told VNC that she had also received valuable encouragement from Leah Sohr, who is a Nashville-based designer/decorator. And, she expressed gratitude for the sustained mentoring she received from local consultant Shawn Glinter and the ubiquitous Germain Böer, director of the Owen Entrepreneurship Center.
Sohr's assessment of Allen's sales grit is borne-out by Allen's own explanation of how Georgie gained the entre it now enjoys with Nordstrom, Neiman-Marcus and other retailers.
Asked about that sales feat by VNC, Allen said she had no intermediary with the retailers. Rather, she said she "kept sending them products and kept calling them until I thought they'd have me arrested." Similar perseverance has helped her get Georgie lashes on contestants on American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.
There's more: Asked how Georgie's products got six slots on hotly contested HomeShoppingNetwork (HSN) in 2011, Allen explained that she attended a speaking appearance by HSI CEO Mindy Grossman, went up to her and handed her a flash-drive with their presentation on it. (Its HSN sales were about $100K gross, she said, noting that there's "not a lot" of negotiation with HSN over the deal.)
Allen said that early this year she made it only part-way through competition for a spot on ABC's popular Shark Tank pitch program. She's likely to try again, now that she knows the intense process, she said. (In her first attempt, she planned to ask for $150K and had no plans to offer more than 10 percent equity the company in exchange, she said.)
By 2011, the Allen sisters had raised $100,000 from friends and family, Allen said. Now, its sales efforts are focused on major chains, and revenue is being reinvested. It projects $250K revenue in 2013, she said.
The sisters are typically reimbursed their travel costs and related expenses, but they take no salaries, yet, she said when asked. It's the only way to be "aggressive" in marketing, she explained.
They'll continue to bootstrap while that makes sense, and they have no concrete plans to raise outside capital, at this time. For now, they focus on gaining more customers and strengthening their ability to compete with such brands as Chantecaille and tarte cosmetics, she said. Georgie is positioned more upscale and "urban" that products offered via mass marketers, she noted.
Winks by Georgie are marketed mainly to women age 18 to "early 30's," said Allen. Its 15 lash products are today found in shops in 19 states and via such e-retailers as Nordstrom.com, NeimanMarcus.com and others, and they have received a wide array of reviews online.
Pricing varies in bricks-and-mortar shops; but, based on VNC calls to several authorized outlets, the Nordstrom prices seem representative: $28 (a pair of lashes and adhesive, in a compact case), or $15 per pair of lashes and $8 for a tube of adhesive.
Georgie's formal and informal advisors doubtless include her father, Miron "M.H." Allen, a founder of Allen, Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors, in Thomasville. (The Georgie Beauty name reflects the entrepreneurs' homestate, according to one media account).
Earlier this year, The New York Times reported on the faux lash trend, noting that in 2010 the US market was estimated at $44 million and rising, while much of the fashion industry was flat. According to various media reports in the US and UK, the eyelash impetus has been generated by the examples of singers Adele and Katy Perry, and by such realityTV entrants as the Kardashians and X Factor. Another report suggested that in a down economy, false lashes have become an affordable alternative to cosmetic surgical enhancement.
In the Allens' view, Georgie is about "reinventing the classics" in beauty and style. Whereas Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe helped create the first "heyday" of false lashes, said Megan Allen, a "second heyday" is emerging, and she likes to imagine that Georgie is one of the reasons for that.
Allen earned a degree in communications at the University of Georgia and spent several years as a freelance publicist and as an agency account manager for Trent & Company, an NYC-based media, PR and social-media promotions house, according to her Linkedin. An old entry on an NY City babysitter website indicates that at one point, Megan for a time offered to help City parents in need.
Georgie's hand-made human hair lashes are made in Indonesia, with packaging produced in Taiwan, said Allen. The adhesive is proprietary and made in the U.S., she noted.
According to New York state records, online, the Georgie venture is successor to a business chartered by Abbey Allen in New York in 2007. VNC


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They rate it above returns, sustainability, share performance and even profitability, a survey of delegates at the 34th Forum in Davos, Switzerland has found.
Fifty-nine per cent reckoned their brands were worth 40 per cent or more of their companies’ market capitalisation while 77 per cent believed that brands – which the survey classifies as reputations – are more important than two years ago. It is the first time the Forum has conducted a survey on corporate reputation.
‘This begins to show what we’ve been suspecting over the last few years, and which other studies have shown: that brand is the most important thing. That’s what we’ve found talking to CEOs,’ said the Forum’s head of media Mark Adams. It also showed that companies were starting to consider brands as vital to a healthy bottom line over the long term, he added.
Twenty-four per cent considered reputation as most significant, topped only by the 27 per cent who championed quality of goods and services.
l Fleishman-Hillard has revamped its senior management tier in Europe and Africa citing the need to exploit a perceived upturn in the PR sector and opportunities in Eastern Europe as the main reasons.
The US-based firm, whose firms in the UK include Herald Communications, healthcare agency CPR, and public affairs specialist GPC, has moved the region’s head John Modzelewski to a newly created role of president of client relations, which has a global remit.
He has been replaced by senior partner David Senay, who already has a regional brief overseeing work in the central region of the US.


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Players of smash hit title Apex Legends were stopped from playing due to a protest message about… similar shenanigans in a different video game.
We look at the rise in video game scams promising early access to upcoming titles, but delivering nothing but phishing and malware
We look at a history of saving game data in video games, and how it usually provides modders and hackers with the best chance of tampering with game data.
A recent Steam phishing campaign caught our eye, but looking deeper, we found it’s been around for a few months. We investigate the phish to show users how to spot the telltale signs of social engineering.
We take a look at the various cyberthreats video gamers may encounter online, their real-world consequences, and what users can do to protect themselves.


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All the hype around big data last year didn't drive big growth in the worldwide BI (business-intelligence) and analytics market, according to research firm Gartner.
SAP is expanding its arsenal of data-analysis software with the acquisition of predictive analytics vendor KXEN, announced Tuesday.
Sixteen of the top 25 companies offering a good work-life balance are technology companies, according to a new ranking from the job site Glassdoor, with the SAS Institute and National Instruments leading the pack.
The BI (business intelligence) software market cooled off a bit in 2012 after "a few historic banner years" of spending growth, due to difficult economic conditions and even confusion over industry buzzwords such as "big data," according to a report ...
By now, it's become a tired old tech industry bromide: CIOs need to be business-savvy.
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By Carol Tannenhauser
“What are your commenters going to say about me?” laughed Jennifer Bergman, owner of West Side Kids, an independent toy store on Amsterdam Avenue and West 84th Street, which celebrated its 36th anniversary last month. “A is for activist is our bestselling book!”
Also, before the 2016 election, West Side Kids carried Hillary Clinton paper dolls, action figures, and biographies, while Donald Trump merchandise was not represented – even as a joke.
“I have a sales rep who couldn’t get over the fact that I was unwilling to buy Trump stuff and make money on it,” Bergman recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t want it in the store.’ One customer said, ‘Don’t you have to be bipartisan?’ I said, ‘No. I don’t. This store has to represent what we believe in.’”
To that end, Bergman has begun doing “political windows.” The Halloween display features a selection of toys falling either on the side of science or magic. On the side of science is a lego-like model of a space center; on the magic side is one of the White House.
“I love that children can look at them and start asking questions,” Bergman said, “and parents can have whatever kind of conversations they want about what’s going on in the world.”
West Side Kids has been mixing play and politics from the time Bergman’s mother, Alice, opened the store in 1981. An early feminist and civil rights activist, Alice had started a handmade toy company in 1971 – when Bergman was in nursery school at West Side Montessori – called “Toys for All Children,” eschewing the then-standard blond, blue-eyed, male-dominated version of reality for a more ethnically diverse, non-sexist one.
“She made an African-American, woman-doctor puppet – in 1971!” Bergman exulted. “She was way ahead of her time.”
Now 81, Alice retired three years ago to her home state of New Mexico, but Bergman said “she misses New York and we’re hoping she comes back.” Meanwhile, her influence on her daughter remains strong. “I haven’t really changed very much about the store.”
It is a beautiful, old space – brightly painted, covered from polished-wood floor to painted-tin ceiling with shelves and stacks of toys and books. (There’s even a copy of the Constitution!)
“My mother’s philosophy about toys is very strong and continues to exist today,” Bergman said. “Play is a child’s work, and toys are the tools for that work. You need the correct tools to grow into a creative, interesting adult. Everything in our store, to some extent, is educational, because it’s interactive. Nothing does anything for anybody. And, when possible, the toys are non-gender specific. I’m not going to carry a pink tool set. I’m going to carry a tool set and hope that boys and girls buy it.”
Five or six years ago, Bergman finally began stocking Barbie.
“With Amazon taking over the world of retail, we no longer have the option to only sell what we please,” she explained. “If we don’t have what people want, they can go online and buy it. We have to have a comprehensive selection of toys and more inventory all the time.
“My former neighbors, who have two young children, have never been in this store,” Bergman continued. “They buy everything online. Every day, you’d see packages in front of their door. That is so sad, because their children are missing out on the experience of a toy store. A toy store for a child is magical.”
Bergman would know; she was 14 when her mother opened West Side Kids. (Her father was an entertainment lawyer, not involved in the business.) After working there as a graduate student with her younger sister Leslie Bergman, she decided to go out and see what else the world had to offer. She left a job in children’s publishing to come back to the store when her mother fell gravely ill. Alice recovered, but retired soon after. Leslie moved on to a career in childcare and, in 2010, Bergman took the reins.
“I feel like I’m in the right place,” she said. “Having a family business is very special. I was raised here. it’s a part of me. It’s in my blood. Also, our sense of community is really strong. Before we opened, this was a Haitian social club. That’s how much the neighborhood has changed. We were real pioneers. There was us, Better Times Antiques, Good Enough to Eat, Sarabeth’s, Popover’s, and a tire store across the street. The community has stood by us over the years. We’ve been through a lot of challenges, competition, and economic downturns, and they always come back.”
Is Bergman worried that wearing her politics on her sleeve could be bad for business?
“I think it’s actually improved our sales,” she said. “I hear all the time from my vendors and reps that business is bad everywhere. We’re up nine percent for the year. I believe our windows are bringing people into the store. They’re seeing that we’re humans with a point of view, not a corporation.”


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Abercrombie & Fitch trades gift cards for resold clothing as part of Thredup partnership
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has upped its sustainability efforts through a new clothing resale partnership with e-thrift store Thredup.
Part of Thredup's 'Resale-as-a-Service' platform, the partnership allows consumers to send used or unwanted clothing and accessories to Thredup, in exchange for gift certificates that can be used to buy new products at any of the Abercrombie & Fitch Co. brands, including Abercrombie, Abercrombie Kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks.
In order to participate, customers can request a Thredup 'clean out kit' or print out a prepaid shipping label to send any new or like-new women's or children's apparel, accessories and footwear from any brand to the resale marketplace. Once the items are processed, customers will receive their gift cards.
Previously, Thredup has partnered with companies including Target, Reformation and Gap for various 'closet clean out' initiatives.
The new partnership marks Abercrombie & Fitch's latest eco-friendly initiative since the company joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in 2019.
Earlier this month, Abercrombie & Fitch announced that it would be temporarily furloughing all retail staff in its North American and EMEA regions beginning April 12, as its stores in the regions remain temporarily closed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a Marketwatch report, the retailer's stock has sunk 64.5% over the past year.
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Dark Souls 3 News & Update: Dark Souls Still Dark On Nintendo Switch Launch Titles, May Come But Not Sure, Dark Souls To Get Serious On AIBy Erwin Castro, UniversityHerald Reporter
Bandai Namco, the publisher of the action-packed RPG Dark Souls 3," is getting more serious about artificial intelligence. The Japanese video game publisher on Monday announced that it will invest a small, undisclosed amount to an AI startup whose algorithms have defeated several professional players.
Bandai Namco, the company behind the action RPG "Dark Souls" and "Tekken," has teamed up with a board game artificial intelligence startup, investing in AI technology that could aid its video game development.
According to Engadget, the Japanese company has invested a small, undisclosed amount in AI startup Heroz, who employs an expert in AI field and has algorithms for shogi (Japanese chess) that defeated several professional players in public matches.
Bandai Namco To Use AI Tech For Future Game Development, Possibly In The Dark Souls 4
Bandai Namco has been betting hard on AI for its future game development. The company is hoping to tap into the startup's AI know how to improve its non-playing character behavior in future game development.
According to some AI expert, Bandai Namco could tap into the startup's AI tech and use that to create game characters that could behave and even think like humans. Other potential applications of the acquired AI technology include finding flaws and holes in game development.
Dark Souls 3 Still Dark On Nintendo Switch, May Come But Not Sure
Digital Trends has previously reported about "Dark Souls 3" getting into Nintendo Switch's upcoming launch titles. According to Digital Trends, the gaming port has been in development for several months through a small development team.Unfortunately, "Dark Souls 3" is still not sure for the Nintendo Switch at this point, as the game developer wants to make sure there is a large enough install base to decide on such massive high-risk game project.
Bandai Namco is said to employ some wait and see the strategy here before committing its "precious title" to the upcoming game console. But if "Dark Souls 3" find its way to the upcoming gaming console Nintendo Switch, it will likely ship with all downloadable content already included, according to reports.
Published by the Japanese game developer Bandai Namco, "Dark Souls 3" is a third-person action role-playing video game developed for PC, Xbox 360, and PS4. The game, which said to be the fourth installment in the "Dark Souls" series, takes place in a large and continuous open world environment.